


Unexpected

by homeiswheretheheartis



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Drunken Confessions, Endgame Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, F/M, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Not Actually Unrequited Love, One Direction Hiatus, Reunions, Slow Burn, Unrequited Love, Work In Progress, one direction reunion, restrained feelings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-11-15
Packaged: 2018-12-11 21:47:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11723220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/homeiswheretheheartis/pseuds/homeiswheretheheartis
Summary: Louis and Eleanor are starting to get very serious in their relationship when Harry calls and wants a One Direction Reunion. Louis hesitates at first, because always being on tour was what drove him and Eleanor away from each other a few years ago. But they always promised to get back together, so he eventually agrees. He is confident that they will get through it this time around.But what he didn't expect is his drunk bandmate and ex-best friend to come clear with something that he isn't able to get out of his mind anymore, no matter how hard he tries.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, loves :)
> 
> I decided to do another non-au, because I seem to be enjoying writing those a lot more than au's.  
> This is going to be a work-in-progress, and I'm doing shorter chapters to take off the pressure a little bit and so I can update more often.  
> I hope you enjoy that one and let me know what you think! :)
> 
>  
> 
> Note: of course this work is pure fiction, I don't claim anything to be true.

It's May 2019 when Louis receives that phone call from Niall. He is half sitting half laying on the sofa, Eleanor's head in his lap, his hand combing through her hair, lightly scratching her scalp while they are watching Netflix.

"Hey mate. What's up?" He answers, not being able to hide the grin on his face, after not hearing from him since they saw each other at the beginning of the year. Eleanor looks up at him with a questioning gaze, so he mouths "Niall" to her. She grins and settles back, tugging his hand back into her hair and turns her gaze back to the TV. Louis happily obliges and turns his attention back to the phone call.

"- so crazy, I'm telling you. But yeah, what do you think?" Is all Louis is able to get when he tunes into the conversation again. Oops.

"Eh, sorry. I'm afraid I didn't get the beginning of your sentence. What do I think about what?" He sheepishly asks.

"About the reunion!" Niall almost shouts, as if that word was not a big thing at all.

"Whoa - wait, what?" Louis exclaims, sitting up and accidentally jostling Eleanor's head with his movement. But his open mouth and wide eyes must have been enough for her to sit up as well and look at him with wide eyes.

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking when Harry called me. Couldn't believe it. I didn't really expect the call coming from him, to be honest." Louis doesn't really understand what Niall is saying.

"What do you mean the call coming from him?" He asks, just to be sure.

"I mean Harry's call about wanting to do a reunion? Didn't he call you?" Niall sounds so surprised, that Louis can't help but let a little laugh escape. And no. Harry didn't call him. Not that that would be out of the ordinary, but that was another topic.

"No, he didn't, Niall. So please tell me exactly what he wanted? I'm not sure I really understand." Louis pleads and sinks back into the sofa cushions, motioning for Eleanor to also lay back again. She does so, but instead of his lap, she lays her head on his chest and snuggles into his side.

"Oh, okay. I thought he had already called everyone so I wanted to hear your opinion. But eh, I guess I might as well just tell you now, cat's out the bag anyway, right?" Niall rambles.

"Get on with it, Horan", Louis teases.

"Alright, alright, chill out." Niall laughs, and Louis can hear him take a breath. "Well, he called me yesterday. I was surprised because I hadn't heard from him in a while, but you know as well as me that this is nothing new. So anyways - he started to ramble about how amazing his tour was last year and how amazing it was to perform again and be all over the world and stuff, you know it. But then he went on about how different it was to perform alone, and how he always thought something was missing but couldn't figure out what and then how he was writing a few weeks ago and found himself thinking about sectioning the song into different parts and how he had this big realization suddenly that he was writing for a four-piece again. For us. So yeah, he said that he wanted us to get back together."

Louis is speechless. Literally. He doesn't know what to think or what to say. Never in a million years would he have thought that Harry would be the one to wish for a reunion. Not after him being the one to even bring up the hiatus in the first place.

"Babe?" Eleanor looks up at him with a questioning gaze, and in the same moment, Niall asks him if he's still there.

"I- wow. I don't know what to think." Is all he is able to say.

"Yeah, that's literally what I thought", Niall chuckles, "But I mean the timing is not that bad isn't it?"

And yeah, Niall is right. The timing is not that bad. Even if a reunion hadn't been on his mind for a while, he didn't have anything planned for a long while. For the first time in years. He didn't know if he wanted to give that up yet.

"I mean yeah, you're right, but I don't really know, Niall", Louis sighs, "That came out of nowhere, to be honest. I don't know if it is the right time for me." He answers cautiously.

"No, I get it, Lou. Take your time to think about it, alright? Maybe call Liam? Or Harry even? I know that we will also have to talk about it in person, but just think about it for a while first. Talk to Eleanor about it." Niall suggests.

"Yeah, mate, I will. Thank you for calling, was nice to hear from you again. I will call you as soon as I made up my mind, okay?"

"Yeah, sure. Take your time. Bye, Lou."

"Bye, Niall. Take care."

Louis hangs up, lets his phone plop onto the sofa and takes a deep breath, his arm coming up to cover his eyes. This was not how he expected this day to go.

"Babe?" Comes Eleanor's tentative voice. Louis takes his arm away from his eyes, looks down to her and brings his hand up to softly caress her upper back and neck.

"Harry wants a reunion." He says with an exhale.

"What?" Eleanor looks up at him with wide eyes. And yeah, Louis gets it. It's not that he didn't expect this to happen sometime in the future, and he even always looked forward to it, but he didn't expect it to happen so soon. And for that call to come from Harry, of all people. He just couldn't wrap his head around it yet.

"Yeah," Louis chuckles lightly, "I don't even know what to think. I didn't expect that to happen."

Eleanor looks at him deliberatively, seemingly trying to calculate what's the right thing to say now, and Louis doesn't try to interrupt the silence.

"Do you want it to happen?" Is what she finally decides on. And that is the whole problem, isn't it? Louis doesn't know what he wants.

"I mean - yeah, I would never rule it out or anything, but..." He doesn't really know how to continue.

"But?" Eleanor asks him to continue his thought.

"I just... We were just starting to talk about maybe building a family together and the first thought that comes to my mind right now is that all the touring and stuff managed to break us once and I don't know if I can take the chance and risk that again. I quite like our life as it is right now."

He pulls Eleanor closer and closes his eyes for a moment. She goes willingly, not trying to say anything just now. It's been almost three years since they got back together again and Louis couldn't be happier. She was there for him through the hard times after his mother died and he could rely on her anytime. She even got to meet Freddie and both of them immediately liked each other. They have talked about kids a few times and both agreed that they wanted to have at least one in the near future, and Louis has honestly been very close to proposing to her not only once in the last two months.

"I love you." He tells her and kisses her forehead.

"I love you, too," Eleanor mumbles into his chest, a smile on her face. "I know where you're coming from, Lou", she picks up the conversation again, "but we were also so young back then. We've grown so much both personally and also in our relationship since then, I don't think we will have the same problem again. Also, I don't think that the other boys want to go back to the same insanely busy schedule like you had then, like, I don't think Liam would like to be away from Bear that much and everything. I'm sure you could talk about things like that to each other, don't you?"

And yeah, she has a point there.

"I guess you're right. So you think we could do this? Would you be okay with me being all over the world again?" Louis asks hesitantly.

"Lou, babe, look at me." She says and he turns his head to face her fully. "Of course I won't exactly love being away from you all the time, but there's going to be time off, and I can also always come and visit you." She smiles softly at him.

"Yeah?" Louis feels the corners of his mouth pull upwards.

"Yeah." Eleanor states and gives him a lingering peck. "And also, I know that you love performing with those guys, and I know that there are already thoughts in your head for new songs." She grins at him, and Louis has to chuckle.

"You're not wrong." He grins back at her.

"When am I ever?" She jokes and Louis pulls her into a kiss again.

Looks like there is going to be a One Direction reunion.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the delayed update, but here it is finally. I hope I don't have another writer's block so I can keep updating more evenly.  
> I still hope you enjoy it! :)

Louis' hands start to shake as soon as he hears the doorbell ring. He's immensely excited to see the boys again, but it has been a while since he has last seen Niall and Liam and it must have been almost two years since he has seen Harry. And considering the circumstances of their meeting, Louis is allowed to be a bit nervous.

  
He opens the door and before it is even open all the way, he immediately gets engulfed in a big hug from Liam.  
"Aaah, so good to see you again. How are you?" Liam asks, squeezing Louis just a little bit tighter.  
"Mate, you're crushing me." Louis jokes but still responds by putting his arms around Liam's back. "But yeah, I'm good thanks. How are you? How are Cheryl and Bear?"  
"We're really good, thank you." Liam finally lets him go, but not without holding him at arm's length first and looking at him with a big grin on his face.  
"Tommo!" Niall then squeals, which shifts Louis' focus towards his Irish mate next.  
"Nialler! Nice to see you, man." He opens his arms and Niall gives him a welcoming hug as well. Louis always loves how easy it is to fall back into the friendship with both Liam and Niall, no matter how long it has been. With Harry, however, that, unfortunately, hasn't been the case the last few years.

  
Speaking of... "Where's Harry?" Louis wonders when he realizes that the two boys were the only ones at the door.  
"No clue, mate. You know how he is. I'm sure he will be there soon." Liam assures.  
"Alright. Well, come on in then, let's wait inside." Louis suggests and steps aside to let them in. They move to the living room and Louis motions for both of them to sit down.  
"Do you want anything to drink? Tea? Coffee?" He asks.  
"Coffee would be nice, thank you." Liam replies, "Just water is fine with me," is Niall's answer.  
"Alright. I'll be back in a minute. Just make yourselves at home."

Louis walks over to his kitchen and grabs two cups and a glass to get started. Just as he's pushing the button on his coffee machine, the doorbell rings again and Louis' nerves return in full glory. He doesn't even know why he is so anxious, it is only Harry after all, but he can't help but feel like he is going to look into the face of a stranger when he opens the door. But he figures that procrastinating the moment wouldn't help, so he gives himself an inner pep-talk and makes his way to the door.

  
He must have been inside his head longer than he thought, because when he opens the door, he finds Harry with his finger on the bell, about to ring again. He looks startled by the sudden movement and looks at Louis with wide eyes.  
"Umm."  
"Hey." Louis tries to collect himself, not succeeding all the way, considering the slight tremble in his voice. But still, he at least tries to form a convincing smile.  
"Come in." He says then, after he finally manages to trail his gaze away from Harry's gaze, his voice a little bit firmer.  
"I- um. Thank you." Harry stammers, and Jesus, Louis can't really remember when he had last seen Harry being so antsy. It's really strange. But Louis brushes it off, blaming it on the whole situation of their meeting and everything.

  
"Did you find it alright?" He asks Harry, who was the only one of the boys who hasn't been here before.  
"Yeah, I did. I'm - uhh. Sorry if I'm late, I was at Nick's and yeah. Am I late?" Harry babbles as they make their way over to the other two. Louis doesn't really know what he's supposed to do with the information that Harry was at Nick's (assumingly overnight, considering it is only ten in the morning), so he decided to just not address it further.  
"No, it's fine, Liam and Niall also just got in a few minutes ago. I was just about to make us something to drink, do you want anything?" Louis asks.  
"Um, just a black coffee if that's alright? Thank you." Harry answers, just as polite as he's ever been.

  
'Since when do you drink coffee?', Louis wants to ask, but doesn't. Instead, he just nods and tells Harry to join the boys in the living room.  
He hurries to finish the drinks and then makes his way over to the other three. When he enters his living room, he finds Harry laughing at something Niall or Liam said and Louis can't stop his mouth from curling upwards into a grin as well. Those are his boys. His best friends. No matter what happens, he knows that those boys will always have his back.  
"There you go," He announces his presence and sets the tray down on the table.

  
For a minute, they all just sip their drinks and nobody speaks. Louis figures that no one really knows how to start, just as overwhelmed with this situation as himself. But like so many times before, Louis is the one to break the silence, in the end, addressing the matter.  
"Sooo...," He starts. "How is this going to work?" Wow. Great question, Louis.

  
He looks up, finding three sets of eyes directed at him.  
"I- uhm." Harry speaks up, clearing his throat. "I guess it's my time to talk since I've been the one to start this?" Louis shifts his gaze to him, nodding to let him continue.  
"Well, first I want to say thank you for agreeing to talk about it, it really means a lot, no matter what we're going to decide on today. I don't want to force you into anything you don't want to do."

  
Louis can hear the genuineness in Harry's voice and it immediately relaxes him a bit. He's always been quite good at recognizing if Harry was lying or not, and in this moment everything tells him that Harry's telling the truth.  
"We know you wouldn't, Harry, but thanks for clearing that up." Niall chuckles, which also tunes the atmosphere a bit lighter.

  
"So yeah, I already told you guys how I somehow started writing for four people in my head again. That was basically the point where I really knew I wanted to do this again. But it's just - all throughout the last few years, doing that solo thing, which was awesome, don't get me wrong, I think we can all agree that putting yourself out there and showing everyone what you like and what you would like to be, it is a really cool thing. But it is also very scary, being judged by millions of people. And it could also be lonely. That's how I felt, at least." Harry describes, and yeah, Louis can definitely relate to that. "I realized in the middle of my first tour, when the whole euphoria of performing my own songs had died down a bit, that I missed performing with you lot. It was just not the same. At first, I thought I was just not used to performing alone and that it would get easier after a while, but it never did." While he spoke, Harry was nervously fiddling with his fingers, his gaze lifted downwards. "So when I started writing again, technically for my second album, Adam and Mitch pointed out that the songs were very different from the first album. We thought at first that I just had progressed further, but then we realized what exactly it was that was different. They were all suited for a four-piece band." Harry lifted his head to look at the three boys in front of him. "So yeah. That's my story."


End file.
